Hospitals and Hand Holding
by WriterAtHeart14
Summary: As the events from November 1983 are slowly fading from everyone's mind, Hopper is facing a new challenge: convincing El to go for a routine check-up at the doctor's office. She's reluctant at first, but she has her conditions... oneshot!


**A/N- I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! ****Happy New Year! **

**So I thought of this idea over the summer but recently picked it back up over the last few weeks. (I've procrastinated a bit but) I've been getting an itch to write but since I can't commit to full on story right now, all I can give you guys are oneshots. I hope you all enjoy, and thank you for reading! :)  
**

* * *

It was something everyone, especially Hopper had been hoping to avoid. For most of her life, Eleven had been poked, prodded and closely monitored by scientists and most likely doctors. She'd never seen the outside world until escaping the lab that fateful night in November. It was honestly a miracle to him that she hadn't gotten sick thus far. But now that the gate was closed, and the threat was temporarily terminated, Hopper figured now would be the time, if at all, to try to get her in to see an actual doctor. So one day after dinner, he'd sat her down at the small table in the cabin.

"So kid, there's something I need to talk to you about," he began.

She furrowed her brow in confusion. He could tell that she was getting a little apprehensive. "What is it?"

"It's nothing _bad, _nothing serious," he assured her. "I just wanted to talk to you about the idea of going to see a doctor."

"A _doctor?_" Eleven annunciated, looking at him questionably.

Hopper nodded. "Yeah, a doctor. Someone who will be able to make sure that you're healthy. That your body is healthy." When she didn't respond, he continued, "I just want to make sure you're okay. This is for your safety."

"No doctors," she said, shaking her head.

"I know you haven't had the best experience with doctors, but I _promise _that this doctor is a good guy. He won't hurt you, I promise."

Eleven sat quietly, contemplating all that Hopper had just said. She looked up at him with her wide, skeptical brown eyes. "Can...Can Mike come with?"

Hopper sighed. He knew this was bound to be a condition of her's, but he hoped that they could get through this already painstaking ordeal _without _involving the Wheeler kid. Although he had to admit, Wheeler did seem to be good with El. In the times he had come over since El's presence had been revealed to all of her friends, Hopper noticed that El seemed more at ease when Wheeler was around. "A doctor's visit can be a little personal. You might want privacy. Do you know what that is? Privacy?"

She nodded. "I still want Mike." El knew exactly what privacy was, it had been one of the first things that Mike had taught her. The very first night he found her in the woods, he had immediately wanted her to have privacy. She knew if it came down to it, Mike would respect her. (That was another word that Hopper had taught her.) He made any situation better in her eyes.

"Okay, fine. If Mike wants to go, he can come with. Does that mean you'll go?"

El nodded again in agreement, adding a small grin to reassure him that she was okay. She wasn't _excited, _but at least she got to see Mike.

* * *

Mike had agreed to come with, especially after El had somewhat dropped hints that she would feel much better if he did. From the time he walked into the cabin that morning, El held onto his hand as if he were her lifeline. She didn't let go when they got into the car, and especially not when they were walking up to the front doors of a tall, official looking building, which gave El a sick feeling in her stomach. She gripped Mike's hand tighter.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Mike assured her quietly. "I'll be right here as long as you let me."

El nodded, and then looked up at Hopper.

"You gonna be okay, kid?" He asked, looking down at her.

She couldn't read his expression behind his sunglasses, but she knew that he was genuinely asking. She nodded again at him, causing him to pat her on the shoulder.

They walked inside and Hopper led the way toward an elevator. El kept her attention focused straight ahead of her, trying to keep her breaths even. The small space was settling well with her, but she was determined to keep her cool. She wasn't trapped in there, and she had Mike and Hopper, two people who would protect her no matter what.

The door opened and Hopper gently took her by the shoulder, guiding her out of the elevator and unknowingly-or maybe knowingly-forcing her to let go of Mike's hand. The three of them walked up to a desk where a woman was sitting. "Jane Hopper," he said to her.

The woman glanced down at El, giving her a smile that made El's stomach turn. "I'll let the doctor know you're here. Please take a seat."

Before they could even make it to their seats, a door near the desk opened and another young woman stepped out. "Jane? Dr. Owens will see you now."

The three of them followed the woman down the hall to an exam room. "Dr. Owens will be in shortly," she said, as she closed the door behind her.

"Owens?" Mike questioned out loud, narrowing his gaze at Hopper. "Owens is El's doctor?" The irritation in his voice caused El to tense up, she looked at Hopper.

"He's the only one who knows about El's powers that we can trust," Hopper explained.

"She doesn't need to be poked or prodded anymore," Mike said, trying to keep his tone even. "I saw how Owens 'treated' Will. El's not an experiment, she's a person."

Hopper whipped his glasses off to look at the ebony haired boy. "You don't think I know that? If any other doctor saw her and noticed something out of the ordinary, they would tell someone and..." He stopped himself, taking a deep breath. "We can trust Owens. _I _trust Owens."

"Is he...a bad man?" El asked, looking back and forth in between them.

"No," they both answered quickly.

"He's not?" she asked, looking at Mike now.

Mike's heart broke at the look of fear in her eyes. "No. He wasn't...the best guy at first, but he helped us escape the lab that night. He wanted to help us."

"You remember the guy I introduced you to on the way to the gate?" Hopper said.

She nodded.

"He found your birth certificate. While he _wasn't _the best guy, at first..." Hopper glanced at Mike. "He's the reason you're able to have a normal life."

Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened and Dr. Owens walked in, carrying a clipboard. "Chief," he said, nodding at Hopper, then looking at Mike. "Mr. Wheeler." He turned to face El. "And you must be Jane."

"El," she corrected, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

"Right, of course. My apologies, El." He walked over to a stool stationed across from the examination table. "If you could hop up here, we can get started."

El looked back at Mike, who gave her an encouraging nod. He could still see the hesitation in her eyes.

"Maybe it would make you feel better if I did the check up on Mike first?" Owens offered, causing Mike's eyes to widen. "It's a basic check up, I promise."

Although Mike wasn't a fan of the idea necessarily, he forced himself to push his feelings aside to help El. He blinked a few times, finally stepping forward. "Would that make you feel better?" he asked, taking El's hand gently.

"Will it hurt you?"

"No way," Mike said, shaking his head. "A check up doesn't hurt at all."

"Okay," she agreed quietly. "If you want to."

He hesitantly released his grip on her hand, walking over to the exam table and hopping up on the edge. Dr. Owens took Mike through a whole basic check up and explained everything to El as he did it. When he was finished, Mike hopped down and watched as El cautiously approached the exam table. "It's gonna be okay. Hopper and I are gonna be right here," he said so that only she could hear.

El nodded silently and moved past him to climb onto the exam table.

Mike stood back near where Hopper was sitting in a chair in the corner.

They were able to slowly get through most of the check up without much of a problem, until Dr. Owens asked her to lie on her back.

"Wh-Why?" she asked, the fear evident in her eyes. She glanced over at Mike who immediately looked concerned.

"It's a much less invasive way to make sure that everything inside your body is functioning as normal," Dr. Owens explained calmly. He didn't seem to pick up on El's hesitance.

"Okay," she said, slowly leaning backward so that she was lying on her back. El stared up at the white ceiling tiles, trying to keep her breathing even. She didn't like that she couldn't see Mike and Hopper anymore. She couldn't see the door. The only thing that filled her senses was sharp scent of cleaning solution, the brightness of the fluorescent lights in the ceiling, and the overwhelming feeling of white from floor to ceiling. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself back in the lab: bright lights blinding her and the natural chill of the building that never seemed to lift; slow, purposeful footsteps belonging to the man who made her sick to her stomach... "No! No, stop!" she shouted, bolting upright, breathing heavily as she felt tears coming to her eyes. El pulled her knees up, resting her elbows on them as she rubbed her eyes frantically, trying to rid herself of the images that sometimes still haunted her memory.

"El? El, are you okay?" Mike's voice pierced her thoughts.

She turned her head cautiously, opening her eyes to see Mike and Hopper at her side. Dr. Owens was standing a few feet away, looking concerned.

"El, what's wrong?" Mike asked, worry evident in his voice. He gently reached for her hand, only for her to flinch away from him. He quickly pulled his hand away. "It's just me, it's Mike." He cautiously reached for her hand again, this time gently taking it and intertwining their fingers.

"Mike?" Her voice came out softly. Her eyes met his, looking as though her mind was far away. She tried to focus on her breathing, willing her heartbeat to slow down.

"I'm right here," he said soothingly. "Can you tell me what happened?"

El moved so that she was sitting cross legged on the exam table. "It's stupid," she said quietly, so only Mike could hear her.

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "If it bothers you, it's not stupid. You can tell me," he assured her. When she only stared back at him with a sheepish look in her eye, he spoke up again. "You didn't like lying on your back, did you?"

She shook her head. "I feel like I'm...like I'm back there. With Papa," she whispered, her gaze looking far off again.

"Hey, hey," Mike said, getting her attention back on him. "It's okay, El. I understand. But you're not there. You're here with me and Hopper. Dr. Owens won't hurt you, at least not on purpose. No one here is going to let anything bad happen."

"He's right, kid," Hopper spoke up finally. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you here."

El nodded at her adoptive father's words. "I just don't like being like that," she explained, looking back at Mike. "I couldn't see you and Hop anymore, all I could see was the ceiling. I felt like...like..."

"You felt vulnerable. Like you couldn't protect yourself," Mike filled in for her.

"Yeah, I did."

"What if I stay right here while Dr. Owens finishes the exam? Would that make you feel better?" Mike asked her. He turned to look at Hopper and Dr. Owens. "Is that okay?"

"Is that okay with you, El?" Hopper asked, looking at her.

"Yes," she responded quietly.

"Okay, then we can finish up with the exam and get you folks on your way," Dr. Owens said, stepping forward.

Mike stepped aside, but froze when El tightened her grip on his hand. "I'm still right here," he reassured her. He helped her lie back again so Dr. Owens could finish the check up, and when he did, El wasted no time in jumping down from the exam table and making her way towards the door, keeping a firm grip on Mike's hand.

Just as she was about to open the door, she stopped and turned to face Dr. Owens again. "Dr. Owens?"

"Yes?" He looked up at her from writing something on his clipboard.

"Thank you. For everything."

Dr. Owens seemed slightly confused, but allowed a small grin to spread across his face. "You're welcome, El."

With that, she led the way out of the exam room and once they'd reached the lobby, she walked proudly from the elevators to the front door and out to Hopper's truck, with Mike's hand still firmly gripped in her own.

"Hey, uh, El?" Hopper said as they all got into the truck.

"Yeah?"

"You did really great in there, and I'm really proud of you," he said. "But if you keep holding Wheeler's hand like that, it's going to fall off."

El's eyes widened as she relaxed her grip on Mike's hand, gently running her thumb over the back of it.

"It's okay, El," Mike said, with a hint of laughter in his voice. "I'm really proud of you too." Without hesitating, although he knew Hopper wouldn't like it, Mike leaned in and kissed El on the cheek. She leaned her head on his shoulder, allowing her eyes to drift close, finally feeling herself relax.

* * *

**A/N-So again, a little cheesy, but I had this idea and I kinda ran with it. **

**Reviews would be much appreciated. :) I hope you all are having a wonderful new year! **


End file.
